Of course, Federer can remain patient and wait for Gao's physical fitness to decline and show flaws, but is this definitely the best option?
Not to mention the suppression of momentum, it is also impossible to determine when Gawain's physical trough will occur, and Federer must also worry about his own physical fitness. After all, he is fourteen years older than Gawain.
In fact, looking at it from another perspective, Gao Wen quickly improved his condition in the last game and was highly focused. He will inevitably fall back slightly in the next game. This is an opportunity for Federer to launch a counterattack.
Even leaving aside the score, in the long run, Federer needs to improve his condition and keep up with the rhythm, otherwise the best-of-three-set match will end in the blink of an eye and there will be no chance again.
then.
As soon as the fourth game started, Federer sped up.
The speed increase mentioned here does not refer to the ball speed, but to the reaction speed, shot effect and batting connection, and the improvement of the entire game state.
Similar to Gao Wen's strategy in the third game, he started to apply pressure from the return of serve, and used full firepower on his forehand and backhand, breaking the balance with an instant burst.
——Ouch!
Amid screams of exclamation, Federer completed an incredible return of serve.
Facing Gao Wen's first serve, a close-quarter pressing backhand serve with a speed of 196 kilometers per hour, Federer was squeezed and had no time to turn his body sideways. He held his body with his one-handed backhand and cut it from top to bottom in front of his chest.
Unbelievably, he cut out a small ball that could only see the height but not the distance.
The tennis ball crossed the net, was only half a step away from the net, and fell close to the net; it landed on the outside of the service area, and after landing, it was pulled out laterally with a strong side spin.
Then... there is no more.
Gao Wen had no time to start, and the tennis ball had already rushed into the embrace of the court again. The ball boy opened his hands and took the tennis ball into his palm like an outfielder, ending the point and counting it as an ACE return.
"15:40".
With this amazing return of serve, Federer won two consecutive break points, taking it easy and leisurely, firmly controlling the situation.
For this point, even Gawain had to applaud Federer.
Although there was some luck, Federer's touch was really powerful, he turned his passivity into a winning point, and successfully obtained the break point.
Nothing unexpected happened——
On the one hand, Gao Wen's concentration dropped after he had just maintained concentration on the break.
On the other hand, Federer speeds up instantly.
Sure enough, as always, the next service game after a break is a big problem when facing the Big Four, no exception at any time.
In fact, in such a situation, a simple score such as an ACE or a straight serve can often help the serving side quickly gain a foothold. However, in this game, Gao Wen's serve did feel the pressure from Federer, and he was unable to score some cheap points.
, and fell into passivity.
Only three minutes passed before and after, Gawain and Federer completed the exchange of positions, and now it was Gawain's turn to save the break point.
good, very good.
Everything is as expected.
However, Gao Wen never thought that this would be an easy game. These confrontations, difficulties, and stalemates were all expected——
Indoor hard courts are indeed very similar to grass. Federer's serve, net, and forehand can all be fully utilized here.
Federer can beat Gauvin at Wimbledon, and for the same reason, he will also have a slight advantage at the O2 Arena, which is why the betting odds are slightly higher.
Danger, difficulties, setbacks, and challenges are all expected.
Gawain doesn't need to be impatient.
To be honest, the focus of the last game was on testing and adjustment. Being able to break serve in the end was an unexpected surprise. It can prove one thing:
Gawain is under pressure, and so is Federer.
Therefore, even if the serve is broken in this game, it doesn't matter, just start over from the beginning. Anyway, this is the first half of the first set, not even the middle.
However, this does not mean that Gauvin will give up the serve casually. If Federer wants to break serve, he must continue to perform at his top level and try his best to win.
Otherwise, Gawain is always ready to fight back.
But now, why not... let's start with the first break point.
a district.
How to choose a serve?
In this game, Federer also fully learned from Gawain's experience in the previous game. Starting from the return of serve, the Swiss King also demonstrated the diversity of his return of serve:
It doesn't necessarily have to be a rush attack, continuous attack, cutting and pushing, rotating arc, etc., as long as it disrupts the offensive connection of the second shot after the opponent's serve.
Occasionally, there will be some unexpected balls, just like the split ball just now, the hitting effect even surprised Federer himself.
Unlike any other player, Federer's return of serve is very imaginative.
Naturally, Gawain's serve also requires some imagination and cannot be too rigid.
He raised his head and glanced at Federer to make sure that Federer was ready, but without seeing any hesitation, Gawain had already started throwing the ball.
Tennis ball, drilled into the air——
interior angle.
Close.
It's the same approach to the inside corner, and it's the same approach to the backhand, but this time it's different.
Speed, 180 kilometers per hour.
At the same time, a large amount of friction is added to completely pull up the topspin parabola. The serve that lands in the shallow area on the inside will spin at high speed and continue to rise after rebounding.
Squeezing the hitting space is one of the purposes.
Raising the hitting point is the second purpose.
During this year's North American summer hard court season, Federer often cut into the baseline to grab the serve. "SABR" caused a lot of controversy, but it failed to work at the US Open. He unfortunately lost to Gauvin in the semifinals, which also made Federer adjust his
Tactics, do not continue to adhere to this set of tactics.
Entering the indoor hard-court season, Federer's receiving position is very close to the baseline, but he rarely and rarely continues to step forward to grab points, almost to an absolute degree.
So, this was the first serve.
Gao Wen was sure that Federer would not cut through the baseline to grab the serve, so he used strong topspin to restrict Federer. The most likely event was cutting and pushing.
Because it is difficult to exert force at such a hitting point, even Federer's one-handed backhand is not easy to control, so cutting is indeed a more appropriate method.
Occasionally, Federer will use such a cutting return serve combined with a sudden hit to the net, which can often achieve miraculous results.
Opposite the stadium, as expected——
Federer chipped.
The cutting was expected; but the line and landing point exceeded expectations.
In this game, Federer's concentration and state were indeed extraordinary. His brain was running at a high speed, and his whole mind was fully open. After letting go of his body a little, he made a one-handed backhand.
However, for the line, he did not choose the conventional push from the middle, nor did he push Gawain's forehand in a backslash direction along the direction of movement. Instead, he used the angle of the racket and the wrist to make a feint shot, deceiving Gawain's prediction, and it was so light.
After finishing the unloading, he made a backspin and pushed towards Gawain's backhand.
slash.
Deep area.
Outward.
This shot's backhand cutting, which is anti-inertia, anti-gravity and anti-trend, puts forward incredible requirements on the core strength of the waist and abdomen and the detailed control of the wrist. It is inspired by the game between Gao Wen and Djokovic, and goes against the grain to break the rules.
, successfully disrupted Gawain’s offensive connection in the second shot.
The tennis ball floated precariously towards Gawain's backhand position, like a cloud.